Nine-year-old Slumdog Millionaire star Rubina Ali returned from a shopping trip this week to discover authorities in the Indian city of Mumbai had demolished the family home. The child actress, who played a young Latika in the Oscar-winning film, told local reporters she was upset to find her home had been razed to the ground.

Last week the home of Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail – who portrayed the child version of Salim in the movie - was also bulldozed as part of a campaign to clean up the city and remove illegal housing. His family have already built another makeshift shelter, saying they have nowhere else to go.

Such scenes are an everyday occurrence in India, where shanty towns are knocked down and rebuilt on a regular basis.